Has Notes just killed Evernote and OneNote?

[johannnn]

If Notes had reliable syncing, then it would have been a good alternative. But as it is now, no, not at all.

"With iOS 9, core IMAP apps such as Reminders, Calendar and Notes will now also feature an iCloud back-end. This will shift the apps from IMAP servers to Apple’s iCloud servers, touting improved syncing and end-to-end encryption." http://wccftech.com/ios-9/

I have got burned by Notes.app sync. More than one time. But I have faith in the new Notes.

 

[0000757]

It's killed Evernotes for me, but OneNote I use for the power functions and taking serious notes. I use Notes to quickly write information down where OneNote would not be convenient.

 

[petvas]

I will probably still use OneNote, since it is also available on Android. I am happy though that Apple finally understood how ridiculous its Notes app was.

 

[Agent-P]

Not for me. OneNote is cross platform and on my Surface I can use the pen to handwrite notes. The iOS notes app has gotten better now, but I don't see myself switching.

 

[MDJCM]

Really? Is that an iOS 9 feature?

It's been around for at least 3 years but unfortunately you can't create folders on the iPhone (as far I know), you have to create them on iCloud.com or a Mac, ten they appear on the iPhone for use. Maybe they'll fix that oversight soon.


Edit: It's confirmed in this thread that iOS 9 will bring notes folder creation to Notes app:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ios-9-0-beta-1-bug-fixes-and-changes.1890516/

 

[Skoal]

Evernote will be around for a long time. I personally moved away from Evernote into apple notes when apple silently added support for note groups and importing of images just so I only need one cloud service for everything but otherwise Evernote is very good. OneNote is actually crap though.

Disagree! Evernote is a jumbled mess. The iOS app changes constantly forcing relearning of simple tasks. One note is laid out more like Word. Simple to use and more than complex enough to do any job. It has iCloud Drive support as well now I believe.

Notes is much better now and I'll use it for quick stuff but it's not going to kill off its competitors.

 

[afsnyder]

If Notes had reliable syncing, then it would have been a good alternative. But as it is now, no, not at all.

Supposedly they reworked the back end syncing of Notes.

 

[dyn]

Looks like Notes will do what most people use Evernote and OneNote for, except for very complex situations?

It's those complex situations most people use Evernote/OneNote for

They both have great ways of organising data but they also have great ways of capturing data. Both are essential to a good notes app. Both Evernote and OneNote do OCR for images and files you attach to the note. Notes can't do that and thus won't find stuff in an image/pdf. Also they can do more styles for text, equations, tables, drawing options (mostly iPad-only though), change paper styles and so on as well as add passwords to protect pages. The fact that these are also cross-platform is an additional bonus or even a requirement to some. Also one shouldn't underestimate the sharing options of both Evernote and OneNote.

The changes in Notes will make it more of a contender to Evernote and OneNote but it still won't surpass them. It shows that Apple has taken Notes more seriously than in previous iOS versions.

 

[BD1]

It's those complex situations most people use Evernote/OneNote for

They both have great ways of organising data but they also have great ways of capturing data. Both are essential to a good notes app. Both Evernote and OneNote do OCR for images and files you attach to the note. Notes can't do that and thus won't find stuff in an image/pdf. Also they can do more styles for text, equations, tables, drawing options (mostly iPad-only though), change paper styles and so on as well as add passwords to protect pages. The fact that these are also cross-platform is an additional bonus or even a requirement to some. Also one shouldn't underestimate the sharing options of both Evernote and OneNote.

The changes in Notes will make it more of a contender to Evernote and OneNote but it still won't surpass them. It shows that Apple has taken Notes more seriously than in previous iOS versions.

There are a number of Mac and iOS utilities that create OCR for PDF files. Are you saying Notes can't do a search on a OCR PDF or Notes won't convert a PDF to OCR?

In other words, if I attach a PDF/OCR file to new Notes it can't search it?

 

[pdaholic]

I'm curious if the new notes app allows any sort of sorting, like alphabetically? The notes app on the Mac side allows for sorting, but the iPhone app only allows for sorting by creation time. If they don't improve that option, that's a deal breaker for me!

 

[chucker23n1]

ItBoth Evernote and OneNote do OCR for images and files you attach to the note.

Yup. Take a screenshot, paste it into OneNote, be able to search its contents later on. Worked back in like OneNote 2007, I think. Very impressive, and I hope Notes will eventually do this.

 

[garirry]

The only problem is that it's still not for Windows or Android. Sure, you could use the web page, but it's overly complex IMO.

 

[chucker23n1]

How would Apple benefit from a Windows or Android version? It's not like you're like to take up so much storage with your notes that you'd upgrade to a paid iCloud account.

 

[dyn]

Not every iOS device user has a Mac, quite a lot use Windows. Let's also not forget about businesses, lots of them use the iPad and iPhone but use Windows on their desktops/laptops. Apple won't benefit from an Android version though. That's what iOS is for

 

[chucker23n1]

I use Windows extensively. Including for business reasons. I just don't see Apple wanting to compete with OneNote on Windows, nor with the business segment. Why would they?

 

[BD1]

Here is a video I found that show some of the new Notes features:

 

[frex]

Not yet, without collaboration functionality.

 

[TwoBytes]

notes is going to replace evernote for me. For those that missed the other thread, here is what is missing for me:

• Password protected notes / encryption like evernote (Apple could use touch ID to open notes)
• versioning
• share sheet paste options for either paste content or link
• custom backgrounds
• OCR
• Geolocation of where note was taken in a map view like evernote
• OS X - a way to backup all your notes back exporting them into a zip of PDFs
• Sharing notes with others to collaboratively work on (Pages works, but having this in note would be neat)
• Ability to copy in formatted tables - any basic tabling feature!

 

[Skoal]

Personally I hope Apple doesn't do an all out Notes like Evernote, onenote, etc. I don't want another app that I can't delete from my phone that will no doubt grow in Megabytes over time. Apple should leave that to App Store devs in my opinion.

I do think the iOS 9 notes is great for what it is and I'll use it for quick things I need to jot down.

 

[wakinghour]

I wrote about this as well. I stopped using Apple Notes completely, and it was probably my most used app since the first iPad came out.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/i-gave-up-on-apple-notes-syncing.1862590/

If Notes had reliable syncing, then it would have been a good alternative. But as it is now, no, not at all.

 

[mailbuoy]

Here is a video I found that show some of the new Notes features:

iOS9 Notes allows creation of folders, but can you also create sub-folders? And, if sub-folders are created in OS X Notes, how do they display in iOS9? Thanks!

 

[JUiCEJamie]

Looks like Notes will do what most people use Evernote and OneNote for, except for very complex situations?

I don't think so. I've noticed that most people just don't really use Notes. OneNote and Evernote users are probably already sold in to each of their respective ecosystems/design.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Notes user. But, I think it's too little too late to convince consumers already using other apps. New users, maybe?

 

[Shirasaki]

I don't use Evernote so I rarely know how good or bad this app would be.

I do use a lot of OneNote, maybe because I have installed this app on all of my devices (Mac OS X, Windows, iOS).

For me, Notes does changed quite a lot in this version, which is gorgeous.

However, when you draw a sketch, you still cannot write "anywhere as you want". What is this? In OneNote, you can use stylus to write on the screen, and drag your writing area to anywhere possible, literally. Notes app limits you to draw in your tiny iPhone screen (I say iPhone 6 Plus), or a small enough screen on iPad Air 2.

This one may not be considered as a lack of function, because OneNote has 200+ MB while Notes only has about 10MB. But other functionality such as OCR, would surely be a professional killer at all.

I often hope I can get a Windows tablet, and use that tablet as my notes tablet, which is much easier than using finger to draw sketches. I really Don't agree what Steve Jobs said "Do we need a stylus?". For natural writing, pen is Always better than your hand, and finger.

 

[Skoal]

While I agree a stylus is better for hand writing I also think that typing is just as quick or quicker which is what I do 99% of the time. If I want a drawing app I can get a stylus anywhere compatible with the iPad/iPhone.

 

[M5RahuL]

I love the 'Notes' app, but the lack of cross platform comptibility kills it for me... One Note is amazing. However, I still use the Notes app on my iPad and sync it real time on Android using the 'iNotes' app.